


Easier Said Than Done

by EternallyTired86



Series: Adrien's Babies [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Post Mpreg, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2020-10-10 09:02:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20525429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternallyTired86/pseuds/EternallyTired86
Summary: Starting a couple weeks after the events of "An Unplanned Situation," Adrien is struggling with the care of his babies and the constant danger they are in from the press and the still elusive Lila. Thankfully, he has his cousin, Felix, and his other half, Marinette.Felix is wondering what to do about his own issues, desire to help his family, distrust of Gabriel, and his budding feelings for Adrien's former fiancé, Kagami. What are feelings? He has no idea, and therefore needs some help.Lila, now Le Paon, is a wanted fugitive with one goal: become Queen of the World. But she needs Adrien to do it, since he is the only one strong enough to handle what she needs of him. After all, he's done it before.





	1. Chapter 1

Adrien was laying on his stomach, having a staring contest with Ava, identical green eyes not once blinking. It was still strange. Three months since the triplets were born, and he still wasn't used to being able to lay on his stomach. Or have much in the way of motion.

The triplets were very active for their age. None of them knew how to crawl, but it was Felix's fault that Rhysand figured out how to summon wings to fly around, Ava teleported places, and Kyra just rolled from Point A to Point B. One magic baby was enough, three were exhausting. 

And of all the powers his dear babies had, sleeping through the night was not one of them. It's like they slept in shifts; there was always one awake.

Ava smiled at him, and he sighed. He was trying to see if he could do that thing Felix did, staring at them until they fell asleep. He was living off coffee, which he now called the bitter elixir of the gods. He scooped his firstborn into his arms,

"Come on Ava, can you please sleep for Dada, please? I need to be well-rested if I'm going to take you to school tomorrow." Tomorrow was his first day back at school after maternity leave which he homeschooled during. His classmates had begged him to bring the triplets, which he wasn't comfortable with. Alya had started a blog called the BabyBlog, and she was trying to get any info on the Agreste trio she could. Only his classmates knew his babies had powers, and he had no intention of letting a reporter find out. She was probably so desperate since she had portrayed Lila as an icon, and now with Lila revealed to be a villain, that blog was forced to be shut down.

As Chat Noir, the story they had been going with was he had been in rehab for an eating disorder, which was thankfully considered inspiring that he went to get help. It helped that he was still maintaining a healthy weight, even though he had worked out for months to burn off the baby fat.

It was three in the morning right now. Rhysand and Kyra were fast asleep, but Ava straight-up refused. Adrien and Felix had chosen to take turns that night they slept with the triplets, and who would nap during the day. 

Ava started crying and, in a panic, Adrien started rocking her, singing quietly and giving her a bottle. Thank the Lord; she then fell asleep. He smiled, changing her diaper and putting her into her crib. And for a moment, everything was quiet, and he went to get some shut-eye himself.

Then Kyra woke up. 

Adrien almost cried.

OoOoO

Through the miracle knows as an entire liter of coffee, Adrien got to school on time, managing to somehow sneak the triplets into the school without anyone catching him.

He got to class and sat down, or tried to. There was a giant welcome back banner for him. 

"Welcome back, Adrien!" The entire class cheered, and Rose immediately darted to the baby carrier where he was hiding the triplets. Today was the first time anyone in the class other than Marinette, Chloe, and Nino would see the newest additions to Adrien's family.

"They're adorable!" She squealed, earning a weird look from Rhysand as he covered himself with a blanket. Alya shoved Rose out of the way to try getting photos of the infants, only for Felix to karate kick the phone out of her hand.

"No. We already said we wouldn't bring the triplets if there were photos. And they're still leaving during the lunch break." Alya grabbed her phone,

"Come on Adrien; these kids are going to be just as if not more famous than you, I just want to get the scoop first, that way you can ensure it's the truth."

"The truth?" Felix had been the one to call everyone out when Adrien was pregnant, but now that his babies were born, it was Adrien's turn. "Alya, your blogs have been nothing but lies and the occasional truth you manage to guess. There's a reason Ladybug has stopped calling on you for Rena Rouge since you sided with Lila, who was trying to kill my babies! Lila is still out there, and your blogs will either reveal their magic, which I will not allow, or it will lead Lila directly to them! I've already had issues with creatures going for them while sentimonsters attack! So the less the public knows about the triplets, the better. I'm sorry, Alya, but I cannot trust you. Once upon a time, reporters respected when to hide private information. _ This _ is not how it's done!" 

Yeah, he had been spending some time with Marinette's grandfather, who was quite lovely if you had an open mind towards the old ways. He adored the triplets, even though male pregnancy wasn't how it was done, but abortion also wasn't how it was done. Adrien enjoyed learning about how things were in the old days and got helpful tips about keeping the triplets happy, and it was just the sleeping in shifts issue that left him unable to sleep. He also learned how to bake Dupain family recipes. Rollan knew the babies had magic, but since he had turned into a villain made of bread, that was not the strangest thing, and "as long as they don't turn anything here into that modern trash" he didn't care.

Alya gaped, "How dare you?!"

"How dare I? HOW DARE I?! I AM A FATHER TRYING TO PREVENT MY BABIES FROM BEING KILLED BY A SOCIOPATH YOU PUT ON A PEDASTEL! I HATE THE PRESS AND WOULD RATHER DIE BEFORE I SUBJECT MY CHILDREN TO THAT TOXIC ENVIRONMENT!" He covered them up again, "You know what, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Alya I know you got a picture, and I will file a restraining order and make your life hell if you post it." Marinette took Alya's phone and deleted the photo. Felix called Gorilla and Adrien gave the hulking man his little treasures. 

"Please take care of them, G." Gorilla nodded and loaded them up. Adrien wanted to go with since this was the first time he would be so far away from them for longer than twenty minutes. Felix dragged him back to the school,

"Adrien, you need to calm down. Lila isn't going to get them, and you'll end up like your father if you worry so much."

"I know...but they're just so little, and I just have a bad feeling..."

"You've been having a 'bad feeling' since you found out Lila wasn't behind bars. But Adrien, if it weren't Lila, it would be someone else trying to get them. I know they are young, but they will always be in danger just for existing." Felix brushed back some of Adrien's hair, which had started to grow out since he hadn't gotten it cut in a while, which made them shoulder-length hair buddies, "They will want to go out into the world, you won't be there to protect them forever, especially since you're a teenager."

"I don't want them to deal with lying reporters that crave attention and could damn them in the process." Felix sighed, knowing the class was listening in, but making sure to distract Adrien from it.

"I know, Adrien. But try to enjoy today. You have a life outside of the triplets, and you love going to school. So until lunch, you are not a father."

Adrien chuckled, "Thanks, Moonbeam." Felix ruffled Adrien's hair,

"Any time, Sunshine. I'll be staying for a while."

OoOoO

Gabriel was sitting in the nursery with his grandchildren. They were up as soon as Adrien was, and were ready to spring into action. It was tiresome. Even more tiresome the number of kidnap attempts against the three that he had kept hidden from Adrien. 

The reason he hid it from Adrien was that his poor son was ready to pass out most of the time and was always afraid, and knowing for a fact someone had tried to kidnap his babies would never get him out of the house, especially since he refused to let his kids around the paparazzi until they could control their powers and could decide for themselves.

He had to admit, while Adrien was a bit paranoid, unlike when Gabriel himself had done it, there was a legit reason to be scared. The circumstances in which he went into labor still gave Adrien nightmares to this day, and Nathalie had brought in a therapist because of it.

Felix was staying because he did not believe Gabriel had had a change of heart and wanted to make sure his family would be safe. That and Gabriel could afford his meds and was willing to buy them, unlike his father.

But Felix had a point. From time to time, Gabriel reminded himself the Miraculouses he needed to save Emilie were _ right there _! Emilie could be here right now with her grandchildren. But no, the price could be either Adrien or one of the babies, and especially the latter would cause Adrien to slip away completely. Fatherhood had matured him too much as it was.

Nathalie came in, "Sir, Mrs. Tsuguri is here to discuss with you. She refuses to accept the change in marriage plans." Adrien had initially been in an arranged marriage with Kagami, but with the fact he was in love with Marinette and a father of triplets, Gabriel decided to trade Adrien for Felix, who would be a much better match for Kagami with his usually cold demeanor unless around friends. And if Felix refused, then he refused, and there was nothing anybody could do about it. Nobody could resist a determined Agreste.

Gabriel growled and got up, picking up the phone, and politely explaining that Adrien was not ready for marriage with the three bundles of trouble he had to deal with.

Then he heard crying from the nursery.

Immediately, he hung up the phone and saw one of the men who had come before pushing Kyra out the window from where she was floating in her forcefield.

"NO!" Nathalie dove to grab the baby and Gabriel tackled the attacker to the ground while Gorilla shielded the other two infants from harm. Gabriel pulled a knife from his belt and stabbed the man through the heart, only for him to vanish in a puff of smoke. He missed Nooroo because the saber that came with being Hawk Moth was vastly superior. But he had promised Master Fu he would stop being Hawk Moth if Adrien survived the birth, and he fulfilled that.

"That was close." Nathalie exhaled, bouncing Kyra in her arms. Kyra was shaking for a second, before crying.

Rhysand flew over to Gabriel. It was cute, the bat-like wings he sprouted from his back that dragged on the floor when he was on the ground. The baby boy looked like Gabriel's mother, not that he would ever tell Adrien that.

"I...We need a doctor...." Gabriel panted out, biting down hard on his lip.

"Why?" Nathalie asked, "The babies are fine." 

"N...Not for them..." then Gabriel passed out, and Nathalie saw that his leg had a bone sticking out, breaking the skin.

"Gabriel!"

OoOoO

Lila smirked when she saw Alya walking down the street, pulling the reporter into an abandoned alleyway.

"So Alya, is Adrien getting comfortable away from the babies?" Alya's eyes were glazed over, changing to Duusu's eye color. She had learned that if she messed with the Amok enough, she could full-on control someone. Who better than someone close to Marinette and by extent, Adrien?

"No." Alya replied, "I pushed too hard to put them on a blog to get you information, and he was paranoid all day. It didn't help he got a call saying his father had been attacked." Lila growled a little,

"Fine. Just work to win him over, and take Felix out of the picture, he's too aware for my causes. Remember, bringing Adrien to me will work just fine. Get him to trust you enough to be alone with him." Alya nodded and left.

Duusu emerged, "So you seriously plan to use Adrien to create another Twice Blessed?"

"Yes. This one will be raised under my care. Adrien's current babies are too aware of who their parents are, and will fight back, so I'll use them as a false target while I try to capture the one person I know is strong enough to carry a magical child. Then the world is mine."


	2. Chapter 2

"Father!" Adrien rushed into the hospital room, "Father, what happened!?" Gabriel tried to sit up, but it was hard as his leg screamed in protest at any motion from his hips as well, like sitting up.

"It's fine, Adrien." He assured, "I just fell." Technically correct, but it was more throwing himself at the bastard trying to steal his grandchild. His leg was very tightly wrapped, and it hurt like hell, even with pain meds.

"Yeah sure," Adrien snapped, "What happened?"

"I told you." He lied calmly, "I was on a call with Kagami's mother, and I was so frustrated that I didn't pay attention where I was walking and fell down the stairs." His tone managed to convince Adrien at least a little.

"You scared me; I thought someone went after the triplets."

"No, Adrien, they are fine. Need proof? Gorilla is looking after them at the mansion right now. Go check on them."

"But what about you?"

"I will be fine, Adrien. Once the bone is set back in place and the skin heals, I'll be out of here and just fine." Adrien relaxed, going to check on the triplets. Felix was sitting on the couch in the hospital, looking utterly miserable. Crap. 

Gabriel had known he would eventually have to deal with this, Felix's depression side. But looking at the young man hit a little close to home, since Felix looked a little like a younger version of Gabriel, taking very little from his father. He remembered a time where it would be him thinking about what it would feel like to die and if anyone would miss him, and having Victor downright say he should kill himself. Gabriel owed Nathalie his life, since she saved him that night, dove into the river after him to pull him out. 

What did Felix get from Victor? Why would he possibly want to stay if he wasn't treated like shit at home?

"Hey...Felix...are you feeling okay?" Felix blinked, looking at Gabriel with tired eyes, but it was tired with life, not just lack of sleep. His meds helped dial down the severeness of this, but it didn't stop the bipolar altogether.

"I'm doing better than you, that's for sure." 

"Felix, you know that's not what I mean." He sighed, deciding to be direct, "Are you thinking about suicide?"

"No. Not yet, at least." Felix laid back down, pulling out a book he referred to as ACOFAS, "Now leave me to bury my sorrows under Feysand fluff and wall sex."

"Felix, you can talk to me."

"No, I can't. Friendly reminder that four months ago, I was in a coma on the brink because of you." Gabriel sighed,

"I'm serious. I know you don't trust me, but I've been in your shoes, and I want to help you. No matter how much of a pain you were to my supervillain plans, I'd hate to see you fall as I did." He got an idea, "Maybe instead of burying your sorrows under fluff and smut, try talking to someone you trust or like."

"I don't want to bother Adrien. He's got enough on his plate."

"I meant someone like Kagami since she's a nice girl. If you're going to stay here, you should try making friends other than Adrien and the triplets."

"But I don't like people." Damnit. Why was Felix just Gabriel as a teenager? This was getting sad. He wasn't so damn relatable in his happy stage.

"Felix, please. I won't push you while you're not doing great, but maybe try?"

"Why do you care?" Felix asked, still reading, "I'm just here because it's Plagg's turn to listen to Adrien's panic-rants." Gabriel sighed, gesturing for Felix to sit next to him. Felix did and was startled to see his uncle pulling up his sleeves, revealing white scars on his forearms. None were fresh, but Felix could tell that they were all done intentionally. 

_ Oh_.

"Because I've been there, and here's proof if you didn't believe me before. I figured that since you're going to be near unreachable by the end of the week, I should talk to you now."

"Does Adrien know?"

"No. And hopefully he never will. Nathalie knows, and Emilie did too, though it was more suspecting for her since she never asked me about it. I buried it down for a while, but then Nooroo and Duusu snapped me back to reality by awakening all those feelings. So I know how you feel, remember it like it was yesterday."

Felix was still staring at Gabriel's scarred arms in awe before his lip quivered and he started to cry. Ignoring the roaring pain in his leg, uncle and nephew ended up hugging. 

That was how Nathalie found them, fast asleep with Gabriel's arms wrapped around Felix, hoping to save him from this round before he fell too far. He wasn't alone anymore.

She smiled.

OoOoO

Adrien's life was a nightmare right now. 

His father was in the hospital, Felix had spiraled into depression indefinitely, he was paranoid all hours of the day that someone would try to take the babies, and said kids had powers!

He was pretty sure he would have broken under all the pressure without the help of Marinette for the babies and Plagg as someone to listen.

Marinette bounced Rhysand on her leg, "Minou, things are okay. You should take a break."

"I can't take a break when I just discovered someone put a bounty on my babies!" Plagg had helped him hack onto the website of a magical market, where his children were considered expensive goods. He got up, "Plagg, Claws Out!" He transformed and looked to his more-than-friend-but-not-quite-girlfriend, "Help me with this, and I will take a break." 

"Spots on!" 

They both ran to where the market was, and Chat literally ripped his way in. 

"Alright!" He announced, "Which one of you assholes put a bounty on my babies?!" A guard turned,

"Who are you?" Chat Noir bared his teeth,

"I'm the mother."

And then he unleashed hell on them all. Ladybug made sure no innocents were caught in the crossfire of Chat's mother anger, but it got real brutal fast. Adrien was considered an adult by the Miraculous since while he wasn't eighteen yet, he was a parent. So he got to activate Cataclysm as many times as he wanted without detransforming.

Ladybug did genuinely worry that her partner was cracking under the pressure, so she supposed it was good he finally had a target to beat on, and doing this would help with the stress.

When every corrupt soul in that place was dead, Chat fell to his knees and sobbed, realizing what he had just done. Ladybug ran to his side, holding him and helping him up,

"Shhh, Chaton, it's alright. Come on, time for you to sleep."

"T-The babies..."

"I'll watch over them. I promise." She turned to the innocents, who were scared out of their minds, "Sorry, he's a new parent, and someone put a bounty on the babies." There were murmurs of understanding, and one person said Chat should have hit harder. 

Chat Noir fell to his knees and vomited, sobbing in the process. It seemed he had finally snapped. Ladybug had to carry him back to the mansion and put him on the couch in the nursery. All three babies noticed their Dad's distress and made their way over to him, cuddling together. 

Marinette couldn't resist taking a picture. Not for social media, but just for herself and maybe Felix, Nathalie, and Gabriel.

Adrien, finally at enough peace to rest, fell fast asleep in moments. Plagg sighed in relief,

"Get some sleep, kitten. You deserve it."


	3. Chapter 3

Three months passed, and it was the triplets' half birthday. Gabriel still needed crutches to get around, and Felix was at the deepest part of the depression, but that meant he was close to recovery.

Adrien made a cupcake for each of his babies since they had started eating solids. Marinette was taking pictures, and Rhysand was the only one not trying to eat the candle. Ava was trying to eat around it, and Kyra was literally eating it.

"Gah! Kyra, spit it out!" 

Then Kyra combusted, crawling around the room, while on fire. Nino shrieked and grabbed the fire extinguisher to put out the flaming child. 

Adrien groaned, Ava laughed, and Rhysand flew over to his sister and smacked her until she put herself out.

Gabriel laughed, looking to Felix, "So Rhysand is the most responsible."

Felix looked up from his book, "Adrien, if you have any more babies, you must name them: Cassian, Azriel, Amren, and Morrigan." Adrien turned,

"I swear to god, Felix. If I have more babies..." he shuddered, "If I take a romantic partner, I am cutting my balls off. I am not putting any lover of mine through that. And if I somehow get pregnant again through some nightmare, I'll consider it." Felix was already back to his book.

Ava crawled over to her siblings and hugged Kyra, licking her. Natalie frowned at that,

"Um..." Plagg shrugged,

"I taught them my ways. I'm shameless." Adrien groaned, picking up his daughters. Rhysand was flying next to them. He put them all in the bath to wash them and clean the frosting off them.

"Bubba!" Ava grabbed at the bubbles that came from the soap. Adrien giggled, ticking his baby's stomach, earning a delighted squeal as he put her in a diaper and put her in a onesie. 

Adrien passed her to Marinette, who happily started braiding her hair, while he cleaned Rhysand. The baby's wings were very sensitive, and he cried if they got pinched even a little. It was hard to take him places since he hadn't gotten rid of the wings since he was a month old. Felix was in charge of taking care of this one since Rhysand was the favorite, and one of the only ones who could bring Felix to his senses.

Kyra squirmed away from being clean, and it took a half-hour to clean her. This baby took longer for everything since she was stubborn. She took longer to be born, to crawl, to bathe, to do anything. 

"Da!" Rhysand flew over to Adrien, sitting on his shoulder. Adrien laughed, ruffling his son's hair. Kyra pouted and shoved Rhysand since she wanted the attention. Please remember they were six months old.

Marinette took Kyra, whose hair had darkened to a lovely pale brown, which complimented her grey eyes. 

"Be nice, Ky." Kyra smiled, grabbing Marinette's nose. 

Adrien got up, "I'm gonna walk to the store, to get some more diapers. Okay?" Everyone nodded, and Adrien grabbed his bag and his wallet. He had decided he wanted to learn to take care of himself, so he could take care of his babies and be a genuinely competent parent. Now that the entirety of the magical community was too scared to go near his children, he was much more relaxed. Once Rhysand could hide his wings, he'd bring them back to school so his friends who didn't know the secret could see them.

He hummed quietly to himself as he walked to the store, only to yelp as he was pulled into an alleyway.

He paled when he saw Lila.

"Hello, Adrien. Long-time, no see. Six months exactly, if I recall correctly." Adrien jumped back, 

"Lila—" she clamped her hand over his mouth, once again using a drug to knock him out.

"Don't worry, Adrien." She assured him as she threw him over her shoulder and transformed, "Everything will be okay."

OoOoO

It was three hours before Marinette, and the family grew worried. Felix took extra meds and called Kagami to see if she had seen Adrien since her house was by the route he usually took. She hadn't seen anything, so the entire class got together.

"I'm sure he's fine." Alya said, "Maybe he just needed an extra break from the kids. Maybe the bar?" Luka shook his head,

"He's seventeen, so he wouldn't be in a bar. I can look if you want, but I doubt he'd be there." Marinette shook her head.

"I should never have let him go alone. What if Lila got him?" Mylene put a hand on Marinette's shoulder,

"If she did, we'll find him. Last time we found him in six hours, and this time he isn't pregnant, so the stakes aren't as high." Marinette nodded to herself, looking to Chloe and Felix,

"Take the west. I'll take north." She ran off to transform and find him. 

Felix and Chloe hid to transform.

Vixen was basically a blonde genderswap of Rena Rouge. He didn't use this form often, but he knew how to fight when he was in it. 

Queen Bee put a hand on his shoulder, "We'll find him." Felix nodded,

"I know we will. I just hope we find him alive."

OoOoO

Adrien woke up chained to a wall in a warehouse. His arms were very much asleep. Le Paon was in front of him, with Alya by her side.

"Have a nice sleep?" She asked tauntingly, then gestured to Alya, "Hope you like my puppet." Adrien growled,

"What do you want with me? Is this about my babies?" He then looked to Alya, "And let her go. She has nothing to do with this." Le Paon smirked,

"I don't want your babies. Well, not this set." Adrien blanched at the implications of what Lila was saying. Damn Felix and his crazy seer power.

"Let me go. I will never help you!" Le Paon held an Amok in her fingers.

"But Adrien, the only way you help me is by being alive." She shoved the Amok into his gut. He screamed as he felt like he was being torn apart. He had an idea of what she was doing or trying to do, but he could tell that if she was trying to get him knocked up again, this was very wrong.

Le Paon seemed to get worried when he didn't stop screaming, cutting him free of the chains to see if that made him stop. The noise would get them caught.

He was shaking violently, unable to move, choking a little on his own vomit. Whatever had just happened, that was not what happened last time. He hadn't felt anything the previous time, but this was worse than labor.

"ADRIEN!" Le Paon heard the shouting and took Alya, leaving. Adrien looked up, seeing Ladybug and Vixen running towards him. Ladybug cradled him in her arms, noticing his wrists were cut up and bleeding.

"You're okay now, Adrien. We'll get you to the hospital." Vixen assured, earning a weak smile from Adrien, who passed out from the pain he was in.

He didn't realize all three of his babies had felt what Lila had done, and they roared to the heavens.

The sky turned black.


	4. Chapter 4

The hospital had had absolutely no idea how to help Adrien. It didn't help the terrifying storm outside was destroying everything. If Marinette didn't know better, she would think Stormy Weather was back.

No, it was the triplets. When they came in, cradling a whimpering Adrien, all three babies stopped shrieking like banshees, and the storm stopped. They all crawled or flew over to their Dad as he was rested gently on the bed.

Adrien was still feeling sharp shooting pain in his back and abdomen. Tears poured down his face as curled in on himself and cried out in pain. Even though he couldn't see through his tears, Adrien recognized them as Marinette and Felix. He heard them asking what was wrong and where exactly it hurt, but he was in too much pain to answer. 

As much as this hurt, he was glad it was happening, assuming he was right and he was miscarrying this potential child. If he actually was dying, then he hoped someone would stop it. He did not survive giving birth to triplets with no professional help, just to die because of Lila.

He heard his father cry out that there was blood on the bed. He felt them pin him down to keep him from hurting himself, but all he cared about was that hopefully, it was dead, and this wasn't his organs trying to get ready to house another child. 

Adrien was glad the fetus had not yet had a heartbeat. If it had, he would have considered it a baby and would not have been able to bring himself to destroy it. Luckily, nature had seen just how wrong the intentionally forced pregnancy was and had taken steps to see that the seed failed to take root.

A couple hours passed, the bleeding had stopped, but the pain was getting worse and worse by the moment. Through his blurry vision, he saw his family discussing what to do, and his babies were laying next to him, tapping him sometimes. Judging by Ava's glowing hair, which made her hair—other than the one black streak—match the core of gold around her pupils, they were trying to find a way to make him feel better, but to no avail.

Felix came over, and Adrien was relieved not to see the depression fog in his cousin's eyes. Apparently getting kidnapped helped Felix's mental health. Who knew? Or maybe he was borderline overdosed on antidepressants. 

His father also came over, very pale, as he sat there and tried to comfort his suffering son. 

"Adrien, on a scale of one to ten, with one being painless and seven being labor pain, how would you rate your pain?"

"T...Te..."

"Ten?!" Adrien nodded a little, needing to close his eyes. Nino wrapped Adrien in a warm blanket and supported him with pillows.

"We're gonna get to the bottom of this, bro." He noticed his friend was crying, "I promise." Nino held his hand, "Do you want me to get you morphine from the hospital or something?"

"Isn't that the stuff they gave the guy in_ Saving Private Ryan _ right before he died?" Felix asked in alarm, then realized he was the only one who would understand that pop-culture reference. Gabriel panicked, Nino rolled his eyes, Adrien passed out, and the triplets continued their unearthly shrieks.

...

Marinette's heart was in her mouth as she walked over with the grimoire. "How is Adrien?" 

Felix sighed. "He seemed content, despite the pain. We won't know much more until Adrien wakes. As for physically, he is still fragile. There may be more issues, but Ava already stopped the bleeding, so only time will tell. Nino's off to grab morphine." Gabriel looked up,

"Go, great guardian, any ideas?" Marinette sighed at the formal name, flipping through her book, noting the pages on Twice Blessed children had been updated after the babies were born.

"So from what I gather Lila poured massive amounts of magic into trying to create another Twice Blessed. But it was too much and not in the correct way. With Hawk Moth accidentally causing it, the Akuma villain was designed to do that. Lila just shoved an Amok in Adrien's stomach; and now, all of that magic is floating throughout Adrien's body. I need to remove it, or he'll die." Her eyes were locked onto Adrien's sleeping form, and it was clear that she was drowning in guilt as Felix did he best to calm Rhysand down, since calming him down meant the other two would calm too.

"Do you know how to purge another's power like that?" Gabriel asked worriedly, "What if it kills him?" Plagg emerged,

"I already have my own magic trying to hold back the Amok because the last thing we need is the Amokitized object being Adrien's liver or something. I'm just hoping it doesn't create a Twice Blessed."

"Don't worry, I do. Master Fu gave me the spell a while ago in case I got akumatized. This would likely kill Adrien then if they feather had become a fetus, but for right now it's just untamed power, not a soul fighting to stay." She sighed, looking at her beloved.

Adrien looked like he was just asleep on the surface, but underneath that, Marinette could see the battle raging. The war was between a black, a deep midnight sky blue, and a light spring green. And if the fight continued like this, the pale one would lose.

Knowing the pale green had to be Adrien, Marinette lent her power as the Guardian and as Ladybug to the battle. Soon the black vanished, and she destroyed most of the blue, but her strength was waning, and she could tell Adrien was fading even faster. Still, Marinette pressed on and purified the Amok residing inside her love.

Pulling what was left of her strength back from the young man's sleeping body, Marinette nearly fell over. Felix caught her since Gabriel literally couldn't, so he was rocking Ava and Kyra, helping them relax. 

Adrien opened his eyes a little bit as Nino came back with the morphine. He didn't flinch as the needle was put in his arm and simply smiled at his children curled up around him. So young, but they cared about him.

Regardless of the pain he was still in—though it had lessened—he smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the last week, Adrien had been feeling really sick. He hadn't been vomiting, but he did feel like crap and had abdominal pain. _ It's just my body recovering from what happened with the Amok, _ he told himself, _ you're just stressed. You're not actually... _

Marinette and Felix were not so convinced.

He was working on homework quietly when Felix barged in, "Adrien, time to pee on a stick!"

"Wh—?" Adrien sighed, staring at the pregnancy test in his cousin's hand, "I don't wanna know."

"Come on chaton," Marinette said, "you've waited long enough. Get to it and do it!" 

"Well, okay, guys! Enough!" 

"You know what we mean," Felix said, holding up his coffee, "I hope you drank enough this morning." he put a hand on Adrien's shoulder, "It's no, or it's yes. But either way, you gotta take the test. Just a stick and a line." Adrien held the pregnancy test in his hands, convinced that this was a nightmare. He loved his babies to death, but being pregnant had been hell on earth. That didn't even count birth.

"Just one of 'em, if I'm lucky." He got shoved into the bathroom, and he heard Marinette and Felix discussing outside,

"Read the instructions," he said, and Marinette read them with a confused expression.

"Se puede saber la duracion de la—"

"French!"

"For the duration of this test, do not insert the test stick into your vagina."

"Wow..." Adrien frowned at the stick that would reveal his fate. Plagg was next to him, "Thanks, Marinette." He took the test the only way he could, and came out, washing his hands, "I'm already panicked. This basically means I'd be carrying a sentimonster."

"Well yeah," Plagg mused, "But if you are, it means Lila can't call upon another one without destroying the current one. Though my added power might make it a real child."

"Oh god," his knees buckled under him, and both cousin and girlfriend had to catch him and help him to the bed. The timer went off, alerting them that the pregnancy test was done. Adrien got to be the one to look first. "Shit."

There it was. Two lines. 

"Well fuck me gently with a chainsaw," Felix said, looking at the pregnancy test. Marinette's brow furrowed,

"Is that even doable?"

"It's a _ Heathers _ reference, how am I supposed to know?"

Adrien was still staring at the pregnancy test, "Okay. This one doesn't have a heartbeat yet. I can still get an abortion." He started gasping, "I...I thought..." Tikki appeared,

"Adrien, abortion isn't an option, it will just unleash the raw magic into your system and actually kill you this time."

"Oh, lucky me." Adrien rolled over, "I cannot go through this again."

"I mean..." Felix shrugged, "You could just have testicular cancer because that also makes a pregnancy test show positive."

"Honestly, I might take that." He frowned when he saw Ava staring at him. The kids were supposed to be napping in the nursery. "Hey, baby girl, what is it?" Ava smiled, revealing her first tooth that had grown in. The babies had started teething a couple weeks ago, so he had wondered when the first tooth would appear. She crawled over to him and tapped his flat stomach,

"Babby." Adrien sighed. Of course, they already knew. Maybe that was why they were so upset that night, they could sense what had happened. He sat up with a weak smile, sitting his firstborn on his leg,

"Yup. In a maximum of nine months, you are gonna have a little sibling assuming something doesn't go in my favor." Ava blinked at him, gumming on her teething biscuit. He felt like he was looking at his mother while looking at her, and it hurt a lot, but he wasn't going to ignore her. Adrien didn't regret having her or her siblings, he just really didn't want to go through that again. But he knew there was no other choice, but he was pretty sure stress was going to kill him young.

Ava looked in the direction of the Cat Miraculous on his finger, trying to slip it off to chew on once she had eaten the biscuit. He chuckled, moving his hand out of her reach.

"That's not a chew toy. Here," Adrien gave Ava the stuffed ladybug she liked to play with, and she hugged it. Marinette had put her long hair into braided pigtails, and she honestly looked like a tiny angel.

Marinette smiled lovingly, "You're a great Dad, Adrien."

"I doubt it. The triplets aren't old enough to rebel yet. And there's a fourth on the way, and that's assuming nothing happens to make this one multiply." Ava started getting fussy, and he scooped her into his arms, giving her a bottle and rocking her until she fell asleep, still holding her little ladybug.

He hadn't been ready for the triplets, still felt like he was flailing half the time. They hadn't even come into their full powers yet! He was honestly scared. And he knew that if his new baby was part sentimonster, Lila could just kill it. He didn't want to get attached.

"Adrien..." Tikki sat on his shoulder, "There is a way to make sure Lila can't kill the baby after birth, but it's perilous."

"I'm listening. I am not going through the trouble of this if this baby could die after birth!"

"If I add my power in alongside Plagg's it will remove Duusu's side. But that child will be the literal wish in the form of a person, and will become much like the fusion of Plagg and myself, Null."

"So lose my child after birth just because of a crazy psycho, or give birth to a god."

"Fortunately, this would also ensure it would only be one baby, no multiplying."

Adrien looked down at his stomach. Well, if he was going to have this baby anyway, might as well make sure it lived. And if anyone tried to take his child, he would just kill 'em.

"Do it. Could you also limit the invincibility to only life-threatening situations so I can get an epidural this time?" Tikki frowned a little,

"Epidural?"

"It's a medication injected into the lower back to relieve pain during childbirth," Felix explained, and Tikki nodded,

"Oh, I can do that." She glowed a bit, and Adrien also lit up, passing out. Felix put him on the bed while Marinette rocked a still sleeping Ava.

"He'll be okay." Tikki said, "And since my power is directly tied to this one, I can make sure he doesn't hemorrhage."

Marinette sighed in relief, "Good." She then remembered they needed to scheduale more doctor's appointments. This pregnancy was much safer with the Goddess of Creation being directly involved, but that didn't change her fear that there would be a price for this new life.

Gabriel came in, "Have any of you seen Ava? Oh, there she is." He froze when he saw the positive pregnancy test, "Please tell me that's not what I think it is."

"If you think it's a positive pregnancy test," Felix was getting Adrien tucked into bed, "Then it is. We have Tikki helping this time to make sure it's a singleton and epidurals will be a thing. So thumbs up."

Gabriel stumbled out of the room at a run of the sort. Marinette didn't know he grabbed the Butterfly Miraculous, or when he sat in his lair with his head in his hands.

Nooroo emerged, "Master?" 

"Dark wings rise." Nooroo yelped as Gabriel transformed back into Hawk Moth, sending out an Akuma to the nearest person,

"Desperada, I am Hawk Moth. I'm giving you the power to seek retribution against those who have wronged you, but in return, you will prevent Le Paon from going near the Agreste family, by all means necessary. No harm will come to Ladybug, Chat Noir, or her superhero allies."

"Yes, Hawk Moth." He sighed.

He wasn't a villain exactly. More like an antihero. But he refused to almost lose Adrien again, due to his own mistakes. He'd lost Emilie, so he would not lose what was left of his family.

No matter the cost, he would keep them safe.


	6. Chapter 6

Over the next few months, Adrien was bloody miserable. If it was possible, this baby was more of a pain than the triplets. Tikki explained that since this kid was more powerful, it would need more space and be much more active.

So here he was, twenty weeks pregnant, and groaning loudly as he felt the baby doing damn flips. He was already pretty big, not as big as he had been with the triplets at this stage, but still quite large at 65cm girth.

This had Tikki and Plagg really worried.

"He is half the size with one baby as he was with the triplets at this stage." Plagg said worriedly, "Though with the triplets he gave birth six weeks later. But we still have twenty weeks, and I'm worried. Will his body even be able to handle this again?"

"Will my power added in, he should be able to handle it." Tikki said, "I've debated turning the pain to pleasure if it becomes too unbearable, but that could just mess him up. My fear is the baby getting too big to be born, which could easily kill Adrien." Plagg looked to where Adrien was playing with his babies, who were almost a year old, gleefully tossing a ball with him but also being careful.

"And if the baby is already too big?"

"Then, we pray."

OoOoO

Felix was at the library searching for books on pregnancy for more ways to help Adrien. Sure, google worked, but Kyra's electricity superpower made searching difficult since she had fried at least three computers accidentally. And this was an excuse to be in the library, which was always a good thing. Since the babies were born, he had not been getting in nearly as much reading as he wanted.

He took a moment to think about his life choices. Hawk Moth was back, and he had yet to confront Uncle Gabriel about it. Maybe because the supposed villain seemed hellbent on killing Lila and any villain who dare touch the Miraculous heroes got renounced immediately.

Kidnap attempts on Adrien had also gone up. Fortunately, since this pregnancy was tied to the Ladybug and Black Cat, transformation concealed it completely. So Adrien spent a lot of time as Chat Noir, even sleeping in the suit. Plagg didn't mind this, but he was very drained by it, so they couldn't hold it as long as they would have liked.

The kids at school were planning a baby shower since they all knew what Adrien was having. Adrien had agreed to have the gender revealed to him at the baby shower. His friends were happy for him but understood from last time that it took a toll on his mind.

Felix was looking through various books, and he realized he could probably become an OB/GYN at this point if he put his mind to it. His father would be proud if he became a doctor, and it would actually be relevant to his cousin's situation.

He did want to get back to his pet project: The Quantic Kids. He was trying to find kids with superpowers around the world and get them into a team. He'd been working on the project in New York and had found Melodie, Mercury, and Kid Mime already.

"Oh, Felix, what are you doing here?" He looked up and saw Kagami with a book on fencing in her hand. He looked up,

"Adrien's having a rough time, so I'm trying to research what can be done." Kagami sat down with him,

"Well, maybe I can help you. Adrien's my friend, and two sets of eyes work faster." Kagami looked up, "You're a dancer, right?" Felix flushed a little since ballet was indeed his guilty pleasure. But Kagami just smiled, "Takes lots of discipline, like fencing. Maybe we are more alike than we'd think." They went on reading, when she spoke again, "I read that series you like. I'm on ACOMAF right now, and I'm questioning everything I thought I knew about Feylin. I think Feysand is endgame."

Felix closed the textbook immediately, turning to her, "Good. Just know Rhysand is amazing and we must all worship him."

"Rhysand Agreste or the High Lord?"

"Yes."

While working, they went on discussing the book and enjoying themselves. Kagami was happy to have a new friend, and Felix was elated to find someone who enjoyed the books he read.

They worked in the library until the building closed, and then they went back to Kagami's house to continue working. Tomoe was surprisingly eager to let them work late into the night while also having bookworm conversations. It was hard for Felix to open up unless books were involved, so this was a good start.

They eventually got lots of new info that Felix wrote down, and the next morning after breakfast he walked out, 

"Thanks, Kagami. I had fun!" He walked back to the mansion, and Trixx emerged.

"She's nice." Felix nodded,

"Yeah. She is. I see why Adrien enjoyed her company. And she helped to save Adrien from Lila nearly a year ago, and that puts her in my good graces."

"Do you think she could be more than a friend?" Felix froze in his tracks,

"No. Whatever you are thinking right now, stop thinking it. She's just a friend."

Trixx chuckled, "Of course." Felix renounced Trixx the moment he noticed an Akuma, running into the mansion and up into the lair, where he saw Hawk Moth whirl around and freeze. Felix ripped off the Butterfly Miraculous and his uncle detransformed.

"WHAT THE HELL?! I gave you twenty weeks to stop this! But no more, I'm telling Adrien." He went to storm off, but Gabriel grabbed his wrist,

"Felix, please don't! I'm doing this to protect Adrien."

"From what? He still fights the akumas, no matter how heavily pregnant he gets. It's only a matter of time before you  _ once again _ stress him out into premature labor!"

"But do you want Lila Rossi getting her hands on him and the child? No, you don't. And in case you haven't noticed, Vixen, if the Akuma hurts the heroes, it's renounced immediately." Felix clenched his fists.

"Then explain why Aunt Emilie is still in the basement on life support. Shouldn't you let her go?" Gabriel hesitated, taking the Butterfly Miraculous back.

"She's not dead or dying. I'm trying to keep her from being in pain. I still love her and can't stand to see her suffer. And if I'm lucky, Adrien's new child will be able to save her at the price of Lila's life." Felix hesitated. He trusted his uncle as far as he could throw him. But he remembered being comforted during his depression stage, or his uncle snapping his leg to save Kyra... Was he evil, or misguided?

"What happened to Aunt Emilie...?"

"We..." he hesitated, "Nothing corrupt, I promise that. We just wanted to give Adrien a brother or sister, which we couldn't produce since Adrien's birth messed Emilie's reproductive system up beyond repair. But trying to create a human being left her so sick she got sick. I had to watch as she got worse and worse until she just didn't wake up."

Felix sighed, "I guess I'll let you be. But if Adrien gets hurt, so help me, god. I'm only leaving you be since Aunt Emilie saved my life, so it's only fair I kind of return the favor. But only if Lila is the sacrifice. Anyone else though will make me beat you with a stale baguette."

Gabriel shook his nephew's hand, "Deal."


	7. Chapter 7

"Is everything ready?" Rose asked eagerly, turning to Alya, who nodded with a thumbs up. They had no way of proving Alya was under Lila's control like Adrien claimed. So they couldn't act other than keeping a close eye on her.

They were currently planning Adrien's baby shower, and they were finally going to see the triplets! That was always exciting. Week thirty, and everybody was eager.

Adrien was sitting down, eating a donut quietly in another room since the baby shower wasn't ready yet. They'd finally gotten Rhysand to hide his wings, so that meant the kids could be out in public. They were also a year old now! Adrien couldn't believe that one year ago he had brought them into the world. Though he still remembered labor and was not excited to go through that again, but he would get an epidural this time!

Kyra looked up at him, her hair in pigtails, "Dada, I want." She reached for the box of donuts. Ava had already grabbed one, much like his Dad believing in asking for forgiveness instead of permission. Rhysand was toddling around the room in Chloe's hotel. Adrien was a little sad he hadn't gotten to see his babies when they learned how to walk. But it seemed they had taught themselves at nighttime, not wanting an audience.

Adrien laughed, giving a piece to Kyra, who ate it and reached for more. He then noticed Ava was hugging his swollen stomach. This pregnancy was definitely more pleasant since he got to see his children excited for a new sibling, and he wasn't surrounded by people terrified he would die. The child within grew and thrived, and Tikki helped make sure both Dad and baby were healthy. Though Adrien's one fear was the baby being too big, but he was assured that was just nerves talking.

Sometimes, he caressed his stomach and sang a duet lullaby with Marinette. They still hadn't had much time to discuss their mutual love for one another, but they both knew it was love. Felix worked as hard as he could to help, to give them more time together.

Adrien's instincts were telling him the baby was going to be a boy, it would even out the girl-to-guy ratio in the babies. But Marinette insisted it was going to be a girl, and Adrien knew she was probably right because she always was.

It had become a game, the class was throwing out baby names. Adrien still held fear at the fact he had seen Alya with Lila but had no way to prove it.

Plagg had taken to being Adrien's birthing coach. Why? He had no idea since he had done this before. But he could tell Plagg was afraid of something, maybe hospitals, and humored his kwami.

He was brought out of his musings when Felix came in, "The class is ready for you." Adrien got up, struggling with the weight of his belly.

Rhysand hugged his leg, "Sit?" Adrien picked his son up, ruffling the child's raven locks.

"I'm okay, kiddo." He put Rhysand down and saw Kyra chasing Ava down into the main room of the hotel. It felt like just yesterday they were a sweet, cuddly, perfect little babies. And then they turned one and became… _toddlers_. He had felt a bit concerned about some of the new toddler behavior, fearing this wasn't normal for infants. But apparently this was normal, they just also had superpowers and loved using them.

"Ball!" He walked in and saw Ava trying to grab a huge exercise ball.

Alya tried to take photos, but Felix had come up with the brilliant plan that phones were in a box outside the actual party to make sure this didn't happen. Less the media knew about his babies, the better.

"Adrien, it's only a matter of time." Alya mused, and Adrien growled, knowing it was Lila talking. And the hormones were really a bitch this time around, so he was three seconds away from throttling her. But Plagg purred from where he resided in Adrien's sleeve, and it helped calm him down.

"Alya," he said with poisonous sweetness, "When they are old enough to make that decision for themselves, I will let them be in media and modeling _if they want. _Look at them," he gestured to where Rhysand was playing games with a delighted Ivan and Mylene, Ava was still trying to grab that exercise ball, and Kyra had immediately run to the snacks to attack and devour them.

"Wow," Nino mused, watching Kyra eat the bread rolls, "Looks like she got a particular trait from her Dad. Except she doesn't even pretend to reserve herself."

"Nope. All three of them get something from me, but they also have their own fun personality. I'm pretty sure Rhysand is the only thing stopping his sisters from flying out a window whenever I turn around for one minute to do homework."

"Oh, the life of a teen parent." Kagami winced, "That sounds rather miserable. At least you're rich." Adrien nodded,

"Actually, Felix and I have been working on a charity meant to help teen parents. I'm lucky to be from a wealthy, supportive family, but others aren't."

"If you could leave some saint for the rest of us," Luka laughed, wrapping an arm around Adrien's shoulder, "that would be great. We want to help people, but you always seem ten steps ahead."

"It was actually Nathalie's idea." Sabrina ran over, 

"Seeing as Kyra is trying to eat the gender reveal cake, should we just do it now?" Adrien laughed, seeing Kyra trying to get into a box which was being guarded by Chloe.

"Yeah. I guess. Do you have a seat, baby's currently trying to swim along my spine, and I'd rather it not do that." Felix was already there with a chair.

Marinette got up, "Is everyone ready?" The class cheered, and Marinette removed the covering on the cake, and everyone gasped at the pink color.

Adrien looked down immediately. It was a girl. 

"Looks like you were right, M'Lady." Marinette nodded,

"I always am. You doubted me?" All of the women squealed, rushing over and overwhelming Adrien with names and girl onesies and such. 

Suddenly, Adrien felt a sharp pain, but it dulled down in seconds, only to come back much harder.

He shrieked, and almost immediately, an Akuma flew into the room, hitting Felix, Nino, and Marinette since all three of them were holding Adrien still.

"NO!" Adrien shrieked, noticing the Akuma object was his own jacket, which was taken off him by Felix.

He then noticed Rhysand, Ava, and Kyra stop in their tracks, and Hawk Moth's voice could be heard by all in the room.

"My Trio of Punishers, I am Hawk Moth. I'm giving you the power to get your revenge on Lila Rossi for causing your dear friend pain. In return, you will show no mercy."

"Yes, Hawk Moth!" To Adrien's horror, all three transformed and blasted out the window, but Adrien saw they had also all discarded their Miraculous. He clipped on the earrings, pocketing the Turtle and Fox.

Ava ran over, screaming, "Daddy!" She ran into his arms and shrieked. 

Adrien knew Lila had been trying to speed along the pregnancy using the fact a sentimonster had started this, but like the time this had happened before, she failed and grew frustrated. She had yet to try renouncing the Amok, and that left Adrien wondering what would happen if she did.

Well, now he had to go save his brother, cousin, and kinda-girlfriend. 

He carried the triplets to the hotel room, then transforming into Mister Bug, which made moving the triplets much more manageable since his stomach was concealed.

Suddenly, all three babies vanished in blasts of light. He screamed, running to the window and seeing them flying through the sky.

Next thing he knew, he was rushing after them as there was an explosion on the other side of Paris.

OoOoO

Lila seethed. Why wasn't the senti-baby working?! Alya was needing to be more careful now that Adrien knew, and that sucked. Poisoning Adrien into labor wouldn't work, but she had been a fugitive for over a year and was getting tired of it. She needed that infant now.

Out of nowhere, she was thrown against the wall and felt her wrist break. In front of her was a trio of akumas, one of which holding Adrien's sweater. 

They didn't speak, merely looking to each other and nodding, before the center one, the girl, pulled out a sword and ran for the kill, plunging a blade into the wall as Lila dodged,

"Duusu, spread my feathers!" She transformed, but then got tackled by three beings of pure energy. One of light, one of dark, and one half-and-half.

The dark one turned to the trio, making a gesture that forced the Akuma out of the jacket, leading to the half-and-half to destroy the Akuma, and the light one to set everything back to normal.

And then the police arrived, arresting Lila, but she did one final thing.

She renounced the Amok because she saw Mister Bug arrive, and realized the sentimonster side of the child was no longer important enough to make a difference on the child itself...but it would affect the womb it was being carried in.

She was then thrown into an armored car, already plotting her inevitable escape. But the damage was done as Adrien detransformed as his mid-section was gripped by a forceful contraction as his body flipped out. He curled onto his side as his eyes widened, feeling another horrendous pain.

"FUCK!" He swore, "WHY IS LILA ALWAYS THE CAUSE OR ASSISTANT OF PREMATURE LABOR!" He knew he'd have a couple hours, and he would get that epidural, but that didn't make it hurt less right now. His only relief was knowing the doctors had wondered if he'd go into labor early with how big the baby was, so he knew the child would be fine.

Marinette took the earrings and transformed, and Felix and Nino took the triplets, all rushing to the hospital. Ladybug was helping support Adrien. Contractions were four minutes apart now once the initial shock was over.

Dr. Amaru was the first to them, leading to a special hospital room near the maternity ward but also much nicer. Adrien was hooked a fetal monitor to check the baby's heart rate and had his contractions measured. There was a cervical check too, to see if he was dilated or effaced.

The OB/GYN came in, looking over charts, "Your father is on his way, worry not. Looking at your ultrasounds, the baby is quite large, even for a full-term baby. Do you want an epidural? Normally we'd have to take other bladder precautions with that, but you should be fine. Another option is IV medication that can take the edge off your pain instead of the epidural."

Adrien winced, feeling the baby grinding on his pelvis. Still, since nobody had removed the triplets from the room, he wanted to stay strong, so they didn't get scared.

"Yeah. I'll take whatever you've got to take the edge off." The OB/GYN left to get supplies, and Adrien turned to Nino, "Please get them out of here, keep them occupied." Nino nodded, trying to take them, but Ava stomped her foot down, crossing her arms, 

"No." She said grumpily, teleporting onto the bed and hugging Adrien, "Stay." Adrien sat up a little, holding her close,

"Ava, baby, I'm not going to be doing too well right now. I'm going to be okay, but there is gonna be a lot of chaos. So go with Uncle Nino and get ice cream, okay? Maybe you can go to the park after sunset." Since he wasn't going to lock his kids up as his father had with him, he let his kids go out after dark, until they had reasonable control over their powers.

Ava didn't seem to understand, so Adrien put her tiny hand on his stomach, "Your sister has decided to come early, but it can't be too crowded. Okay?" That managed to get through to her, and she hugged his neck,

"Okay!" She ran to Nino, letting him leave with them. Felix was sitting in a chair, texting, clearly trying, and failing to remain calm. Marinette was getting water, and once the epidural kicked in, he managed to play video games.

Gabriel came in, already a panicking mess, so he was put with Felix, with Nathalie trying to calm them down.

It was about five hours before Adrien noticed the epidural wear off, even though it shouldn't, and he felt gripping pain.

Tikki gasped, "Adrien, I'm going to check you, this is going to feel weird. But she should have been born by now." She literally entered his stomach in a weird bubbly feeling, and then came out, "Plagg, you were right. I shouldn't have put so much power into helping the baby." 

"What?" Adrien suddenly became fearful, "What does that mean?"

"It means the premature baby is the size of a three-month-old." Plagg snapped, his bitterness more at Tikki, "And since c-section isn't an option with the invincibility, this is going to be a long and difficult birth, it if can successfully happen at all."

Everyone let that sick in.

Nathalie sprinted to get the doctors, and Marinette rushed to get the grimoire to figure out what to do.

Gabriel and Felix both took her place as Adrien's support. He wept,

"Please don't leave me. I'm scared." Gabriel stroked Adrien's hair

"I'm not going anywhere, son."


	8. Chapter 8

Adrien panted, as another contraction seized his swollen belly. For the past ten hours, he had been in agonizing labor that they couldn't use an epidural for due to the complication. These hours had been spent trying to push, and he was at his limit, curled in a ball on the floor as doctors tried new positions. His father was there to hold him the entire time, but no matter what they tried, nothing could move the baby.

Marinette and Felix were desperately searching the grimoire for the magic to reduce the baby's size. But as Adrien got weaker, the situation only looked grimmer, and now the main goal was keeping Adrien comfortable.

"Please," Adrien moaned, "I don't care what happens, just save the baby!"

"We're doing everything we can," Dr. Amaru assured, "But we need to save the both of you. Your babies need you."

Adrien couldn't respond because his words were swallowed by a ragged howl of pain. Still, in his father's arms, his back arched downwards as he tried to push. He once again bore down on the massive child, knowing it would achieve nothing. The baby was pressed against his aching cervix, but couldn't pass due to size.

Another contraction was wrapping itself around his body, and he couldn't escape the pain no matter how hard he tried, a thorny fog of agony. He gripped a hand to his sweat-soaked stomach and felt the hardened muscles as his baby tried and failed to enter the birth canal. The baby kicked in response. Was she as tired as he was? So close to giving up? Finally, the contraction released its iron grip, and he lifted his head sluggishly to Marinette and Felix,

"Anything...?"

"Nothing we haven't already tried," Marinette said, terror in her tone as she watched her partner writhing on the floor in his father's arms. He was so tired and pale, looking like he was about to pass out. And the triplets, according to Nino, knew something was wrong and kept trying to get in, refusing to sleep.

As Gabriel scooped Adrien up, placing him back on the bed, Adrien saw where the baby would be set if it was born. His heart fell, knowing he would never get to hold his precious infant, or see his triplets again, or sing them the lullabies his mother used to sing to him. He wanted to cry at the unfairness of it all but was just locked into another merciless tightening. He was exhausted and delirious with pain,

"Please!" He cried, "I'll do anything, just  _ get her out _ !" He broke down in tears, and Marinette got up from her book to stroke his hair, trying to make him feel a little better. 

Plagg and Tikki were in the corner,

"Tikki, do something!" Plagg pleaded, and Tikki was holding her...flippers?...together.

"I'm trying. I can't reduce the size, so I'm trying to renounce the invincibility so we can do a c-section."

"At this point, I will take cataclysm," Adrien shrieked, " _ Please _ !"

Everyone froze at the fact he would rather die than be in so much pain.

The head ground against his pelvis, putting him in terrible agony. His vision blurred from the excruciating pain his body was going through. His lungs gasped for air as his consciousness began to ebb away. It was just too much to bear, and he apologized quietly to his unborn daughter that he wasn't strong enough to help her be born.

"Adrien, stay with us!" Felix splashed water on his cousin's face.

Gabriel sighed, "We have to act fast. All of these contractions will kill them both."

Marinette then got an idea, turning to Tikki, before leaving the room so she could talk to her kwami without doctors seeing.

"Tikki, is it possible to make Adrien's body adapt, even more, to stretch enough to be able to deliver the baby?" Tikki's eyes widened,

"I suppose that could be possible, but it's dangerous, perilous."

"Even a small chance of his getting through this alive is a chance I'm willing to take. Spots on!" She transformed and burst into the hospital room,

"Doctors out! If you want him to live, you have to trust me!" That had the doctors scurrying out, and Ladybug was between Adrien's legs, "Chaton, this is going to really hurt, but I have an idea to save both you and the baby."

"But how..." he whimpered, and Ladybug held his hand reassuringly, "M'Lady...please...just save the baby."

"I'm not going to sacrifice you, Adrien. I know this is going to work." Adrien wanted to protest, but he saw the determination on his partner's face and knew he could trust her.

Focusing on the task at hand, Ladybug put both hands on Adrien's stomach. She willed Adrien's body to be able to stretch until the child had successfully passed through. The bones in his hips and pelvis loosened and the cervix widened even more, which allowed a more forgiving birth canal.

"How do you feel?" She asked nervously. Adrien looked up through half-lidded eyes,

"The pains have stopped for now. I feel more open." Plagg flew over,

"Water will help assist with this." Felix immediately went and filled up the tub, and Gabriel helped Adrien walk, tears in his eyes since they finally had hope for the first time in fifteen hours. Adrien's eyes then widened, "I just felt her drop!" Felix checked him and almost cried with joy at how the baby's position was indeed lower than before!

Gabriel helped Adrien into the tub, and Ladybug held Adrien's hands lovingly, kissing them.

"It's almost over, Adrien. She's going to be here soon. Can you push?" He nodded,

"I've done it before. If I remember correctly, I push during the contraction." She nodded confirmation, and he immediately started pushing, crying out with glee since there was actual progress, and gravity was on his side, while the water helped with the pain.

Felix went to check progress and there at Adrien's entrance was the start of golden hair.

"Adrien, I can see her!" Adrien writhed and continued to push, eager for it to be over so he could pass out. His daughter was also eager if her kicking and squirming inside said anything. He gasped in pain as he felt fire between his legs and instinctively tried to close them, but Gabriel immediately threw himself into the water to keep his son's legs open, so he didn't lose his progress.

"Burns..." Adrien groaned, "I'm gonna tear!" 

"No, you're not," Ladybug assured, brushing back a strand of his damp hair, "Little pushes, let your body stretch."

Mere moments later, the head was out entirely. Adrien felt like he had just pushed out a cannonball.

Adrien worked harder, just wanting to see his baby. Regardless of the stretching, he was drained and knew this final moment was crucial. Either his baby or a complete shutdown.

"Come...ON!" He roared, giving his all into a final push, and his daughter, just like that, was born.

The last thing he heard before passing out was confirmation she was alive in the form of her crying.

OoOoO

When Adrien woke up, he found himself in the hospital still, but now in the recovery section.

He sat up and noticed the triplets were sitting on an ugly green armchair, holding their new baby sibling between the three of them.

"You're pretty, Miracle," Rhysand said. Adrien rubbed his eyes,

"Miracle?" The triplets looked up, and he saw their eyes were much more mature than their bodies. 

"Daddy!" Kyra got up and gave him his new baby, "Awake!" 

Almost as though they were summoned, his loved ones fell in.

"You're awake!" Gabriel ran over and hugged Adrien tight, "Before you ask, it's only been a day. But a scary day." He gestured to the newborn in Adrien's arms, "The triplets named her Miracle. I hope you don't mind since it does fit." Adrien nodded,

"It does." Miracle opened her eyes, revealing that she had heterochromia, with one eye being deep blue and one being bright green. "Woah."

"WHERE IS MY SON?!" What the... 

Everyone was shocked, including Gabriel, at that voice, as a very disoriented and frightened and _awake_ Emilie Agreste came barging into the room.

Adrien froze, "Mom?"


	9. Chapter 9

Adrien gaped at his mother, until she frowned, "Oh, Adrien, it's me, your Aunt Amelie. Sorry if you heard me say 'son,' the doctors wouldn't let me see you unless I convinced them I'm Emilie since apparently _ someone _," she sent a pointed look at Gabriel, who looked disappointed, "Didn't acknowledge me as part of Adrien's family." She hugged him, and Adrien hugged her warmly, more than a little disappointed this wasn't his mother. He'd had hope that maybe Miracle was more fitting to her namesake than expected.

"Hey, Aunt Amelie, good to see you. But I honestly did think you were Mom." Amelie shrugged,

"It's fine." She looked down at the triplets and the newborn, "How exactly did you carry healthy children?" Adrien shrugged,

"Magic." 

Miracle cooed, and he held her gently, still unable to believe he had been able to bring her into the world _ and _ live. Even if she hadn't brought back his mother, she was worthy of her name.

Rhysand crawled over to Amelie, smiling, "Hi!" Amelie sent Gabriel another pointed look,

"So is Adrien going to inherit my family rings?" Gabriel hesitated, fidgeting with his wedding band.

"We'll discuss this later. There's a reason I didn't allow you visitation rights—and now I'm going to have to explain to the press that it was just his aunt pretending, thanks for that. For now, we have to be grateful for Adrien's _ miraculous _ survival." Adrien smiled at the pun, before trying to sit up more and feeling like his insides had been hit with a meat pulverizer.

"Adrien, are you okay?" Felix asked. Adrien nodded a little, wincing,

"Yeah. I just momentarily forgot I just gave birth and nearly died in the process."

Felix smiled, "Try to rest, Adrien. You've certainly earned it." Kyra crawled next to her father. Adrien looked around, 

"Where's Marinette?" 

"Miss Mari was trying to see if she could find something to make you feel better," Rhysand said, also curling up.

Adrien smiled as his children fell asleep around him, and he let himself drift into the realm of slumber.

OoOoO

Over the next two weeks, Adrien found himself unable to look at Miracle and was unmotivated to do much anything. The doctors said he had something called baby blues, and it would pass. But to Adrien, it didn't feel like it would leave any time soon.

He'd known for a long time that he used to suffer from depression, and that was what this new feeling reminded him of. But he'd been so happy after having the triplets, so what was different now?

He supposed the different thing was the actual childbirth. With the triplets, it hurt, and he was passed out by the time a complication came to light, and it had all been over within five hours. With Miracle, it had been fifteen hours and thinking he was going to die. Even now, that pain and the nightmare of the experience left him unable to sleep. 

Maybe this newfound depression was his aunt's trick to get into the hospital, getting his hopes up. But he couldn't wait for these baby blues to leave, because he really hated being around people right now, which had him sitting in front of his mother's statue on an overcast day,

"Mom, I don't know what's happening to me, but I feel so hopeless, a-and sometimes I-I think about bad things, involving the baby. It's not her fault, but why can't I connect with her like I could the triplets? Mom, I need you, what did you do with me? I'm tired, and irritable, and feel like I'm worthless. I don't know what to do anymore." 

Plagg watched him worriedly as he dully heard the sounds of someone walking towards him, and found it was Marinette, "Hey, kitty." She said, "I had a feeling I'd find you out here. You've been avoiding us."

Adrien forced a smile on his face, "I'm just a little pissed at Aunt Amelie for that trick. And she's constantly arguing with Dad about the rings, and it grows tiresome."

"Yes," she sat down beside him, "But you're also avoiding me and Felix and the kids. What's wrong?"

"Baby blues, I guess. At least that's what the doctor said." And damnit, now he was crying. Marinette watched him worriedly, and Plagg spoke up,

"Kid, I think it's reached the point where you have postpartum depression. You should head back to the doctor. You really do need to try bonding with your baby."

"I'll talk to your Dad about therapy or something," she assured him, petting his hair, "But you should come inside. It's getting cold out, and you don't have a jacket." Adrien didn't do anything besides nod, but Marinette took that as an answer.

OoOoO

Gabriel shot awake, screaming. For the past two weeks, memories of Adrien nearly dying in childbirth haunted him. It was everything he had feared would happen with the triplets, only worse.

Adrien was okay, and so was Miracle. They had all made it. Everyone was fine.

Nooroo flew up next to him, "Master? Are you alright?"

"No," Gabriel said, knowing he wasn't going to be sleeping any time soon. He put on a bathrobe and went downstairs to make some coffee, and groaned when he saw Amelie was already up. All she ever did since Emilie 'vanished' was demand the rings. It was almost as though she had been waiting for her sister to be gone so she could get the rings for herself. And that trick she did so she could pester him about the rings even in the hospital infuriated him to his core.

"Oh, Gabriel. You're up." Amelie said, "So we can discuss the rings now."

"Oh, I'm giving the rings to Adrien." Amelie spit out her coffee at his words. Gabriel smirked a little, "When he turns eighteen in a few weeks, I'm going to give him the rings. He's a father and has been basically an adult since he was fourteen. And that would still keep the rings in the family as Adrien is half Graham de Vanily."

Amelie growled, and Gabriel glared, "If you were only here for the rings, just go home, Amelie. I'm sorry I didn't let Adrien go to your husband's funeral, but I didn't think he was ready for that, having just lost his mother at the time."

Amelie humphed, and stalked off, leaving Gabriel to drink his coffee in peace, giving Nooroo some lettuce.

"She seems mad," Gabriel turned and saw Felix. Of course, he had insomnia, so naturally, he was awake.

"I told her I'm giving the rings to Adrien." 

"Are you really?" Gabriel chuckled as his nephew saw right through him,

"I am, just not for a good long while. When Amelie has her uninvited visits, I'll have him wear Emilie's ring." 

Felix nodded, smiling a little, "So, Lila's gone for good, being sent to a heavily guarded prison. Are you going to give up..." he gestured to the brooch, and Gabriel shrugged,

"I probably should. But who knows what else would try to go after Miracle since she's the ultimate power.

"That's fair." Felix nodded to himself, "She will need to be protected, even if I have a feeling the triplets could do it. It was actually because of this that I was thinking Adrien and the kids should come to New York."

"What?"

"I have some superhero allies there," Felix said simply, "And I promised I'd take Kagami to see the sights since she's helped me a lot the last few months. And maybe a change of pace will help Adrien since I'm pretty sure he's developed postpartum depression."

Gabriel nodded as he remembered noticing Adrien being different since the birth, "Fine. Maybe I'll buy him a penthouse in New York for his birthday so he can take the kids and see if they like it in different places. But you're taking Marinette and his bodyguard with you, and not staying with your father."

"Fine by me." Felix smiled, "But you better behave while I'm gone, and have fun being alone with Nathalie."

"Wait, what?" But Felix was already gone.


End file.
